Family Owned Since 1887

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A blessing in return

Jared Jost is thankful to have been able to do what many of his classmates could not—move back to Hillsboro and begin a career and family.

After graduating from Hillsboro High School in 1996, Jost, the son of Cal and Tam Jost of rural Hillsboro, went to Kansas City Community College to study mortuary science. By 1999, he was back in Hillsboro as the proud new owner of Jost Funeral Home, formerly Hillsboro Memorial Chapel.

Now, Jared is the proud husband to wife Julia and father to 3 children; Moriah, Adam and Ethan. He and Julia are so glad to be able to raise their family in the town his family has called home for more than 100 years.

“My family migrated from Russia in 1874, and we’ve been here ever since,” Jost said. “We go way back to the beginning, before the town was even here.”

“I think there are a lot of other young people my age who would like to come back to Hillsboro but aren’t able to because there isn’t a job that would supply them with what they need,” he continued. “I just feel blessed to be able to come back.”

So when Jared and Julia heard about Hillsboro Community Foundation’s new Impact Fund, they knew they’d found a vehicle through which to give back to the community they love.

“My wife and I talked about how neat it was that (the foundation) was started at the beginning of our careers in Hillsboro,” Jost said. “To be able to watch this money go toward whatever cause it’s going to be—it’s just going to be so much fun to watch the fruits of this.”

“It’s a great way to keep good things going on in the community—a great vehicle to see things happen.”

Jost said he and his family are used to seeing things happen in Hillsboro.

“We have very, very smart (businesspeople) that are just really aggressive and very knowledgeable,” he said. “It’s going to be fun to watch the community leaders—how they’re going to take this money and make it work for the community.

“They have a great imagination—they’re great at dreaming and then making it a reality.”

Jost’s own dream has become a reality, he said, through a job and a heritage that allow him to connect with so many other members of the community.

“I think one of the greatest joys in working here is that it’s where my roots are,” he said. “To have someone pass away, and the family will come in and tell me they knew my grandparents, or they knew who my great-grandfather was or they went to college here with my aunt or uncle—it’s just fulfilling to be part of a community that my ancestry has been a part of.”

Above all, Jost said he wants to continue the legacy his ancestors—and others in the Hillsboro community—began.

“Hillsboro allows me to fulfill my dreams of being able to be a part of a strong community, to be a businessman, to be part of a good church (and) to be in a community that I believe will be a great environment to live our lives out,” he said. “I want to try and be a part of what Hillsboro’s always been about—being a good steward of what I’ve been given.”